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$25 AND UNDER; A French Restaurant Family Plants Roots in Brooklyn

SOMETHING about Banania Cafe in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, feels very familiar. Maybe it's the copper wainscoting topped with a rack of wine bottles, or maybe it's the insouciant French charm of the host. Or maybe it's the enticing menu of reasonably priced bistro dishes.

Other touches echo in the memory: the flask of water and basket of bread that arrive immediately after you sit down and are replenished throughout the meal; the pacing, swift but not too swift; the music, barely perceptible in the background; and the food -- familiar, satisfying fare that nevertheless transcends cliches.

It's more than familiarity. It's genes. The host is Stephane Iacovelli, brother of Jean-Claude Iacovelli, whose Manhattan restaurants include Jean-Claude, SoHo Steak and Velli. Stephane Iacovelli, like his brother, seems bred to the dining room. His partner, Dan Houle, used to cook for Jean-Claude Iacovelli before moving to Savann on the Upper West Side. Mr. Houle left Savann to look for his own place, a search that took him to Carroll Gardens.

Though Banania, named for a French children's drink, bears the stamp of family, it has developed its own personality. The clientele, rather than exhibiting the joie de vivre of the tobacco-smoking Jean-Claude crowd, is more earnest, and there's not a hint of smoke in the air.

Mr. Houle has added Asian and Middle Eastern touches to his menu, so that though it feels French, it falls into that catchall international category that might be called contemporary. Calamari rings ($6), for example, are dusted with cumin, roasted and served with carrot puree, a happy match of power and pungency. Pumpkin soup ($5) is rich and earthy with an underlying sweetness, enhanced by black beans and crisp strands of fried ginger.

A small round of sauteed foie gras ($8) arrives atop pureed quince, a match that is rounded off with the sweetness of pomegranate seeds and the faint bitterness of bok choy. Escargots in lemon, parsley and garlic ($6) are a more traditional pleasure.

But cornmeal-crusted oysters with celery root puree ($6) taste like cornmeal crust, not oysters, and a shrimp roll with a sweet and sour fennel sauce ($6) is similarly leaden.

Among main courses, braised lamb shank is all too common these days, but Mr. Houle's rendition ($14) is delicious -- tender shreds of rosemary-flavored meat framed by chicory and a puree of white beans. Moist roasted cod ($13) is served with luscious potatoes mashed with black olives and roasted tomatoes, while steak ($15) is chewy and flavorful, served with crisp frites. My table was divided on the sweet potato wontons that accompanied a poached chicken breast ($12), but I thoroughly enjoyed them.

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But Mr. Houle needs to perk up a dull piece of salmon ($14), while garlic-mashed potatoes only partly redeem an overdone pork chop ($14). And maybe Banania can enliven its wine list, which offers little beyond a citrusy Sancerre ($24), on the high end of this brief list.

Desserts ($5 each) are another matter, ranging from a classical tarte Tatin to crisp little wontons stuffed with pureed banana in a white-chocolate and ginger sauce. Intermediate stops include a zesty Key lime tart and milk chocolate mousse studded with hazelnut brittle.

Yes, Banania is familiar, but this kind of familiarity does not breed contempt. It makes me want to get to know the place even better.

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A version of this review appears in print on January 19, 2000, on Page F00009 of the National edition with the headline: $25 AND UNDER; A French Restaurant Family Plants Roots in Brooklyn. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe